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Most Helpful Favorable Review

7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

great book!

This book is just one of a kind! Never before have I seen romance, fiction, and perseverance so wonderfully combined. The author really knows just when and how to pull at your heartstrings with Thom's ups and downs. Loved every page in this book, and I'm sad that it's o...

This book is just one of a kind! Never before have I seen romance, fiction, and perseverance so wonderfully combined. The author really knows just when and how to pull at your heartstrings with Thom's ups and downs. Loved every page in this book, and I'm sad that it's over...at least for now!

posted by Anonymous on March 27, 2008

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Most Helpful Critical Review

2 out of 27 people found this review helpful.

parental advisory

I bought this book for my middle school aged son based on the jacket description and the background of the author (executive producer of The Chronicles of Narnia films). We were both surprised at the language used, but he liked the story and that wasn't a big deal. Ho...

I bought this book for my middle school aged son based on the jacket description and the background of the author (executive producer of The Chronicles of Narnia films). We were both surprised at the language used, but he liked the story and that wasn't a big deal. However, he got to a point in the book where the character goes to the computer to do his homework (?) and says something like, 'but of course I went straight for the porn'. Not my idea of what a 'hero' ought to be doing in his spare time....

posted by Anonymous on April 22, 2008

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great book!

This book is just one of a kind! Never before have I seen romance, fiction, and perseverance so wonderfully combined. The author really knows just when and how to pull at your heartstrings with Thom's ups and downs. Loved every page in this book, and I'm sad that it's over...at least for now!

7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted July 6, 2008

A reviewer

This is the type of book that you HATE to finish because you just want it to go on. I hope that there are a lot more stories about Thom Creed in Moore's future. He's a fine writer, adept at character development, and a godsend to those who love superheroes and true love stories.

4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted May 4, 2008

Terrific Book with Strong Message

I'm surprised at the few criticisms I've seen here. People seem to think the character's sexuality is a flaw, or that it was a bad thing that he went to look at porn. I feel like such complaints miss the point that this guy's a real person and, you know, in the real world people, teenage boys, look at porn, and that hardly takes away from any nobility a person may or may not have. Which is all sort of the point of the character. Thom is an excellent, real person, who just so happens to be caught up in this super hero world. It's a gifted writer that can make something so fantastical into an easily relatable metaphor for real life problems, without losing any of the fun of the genre. If there is any need for parental advisory, however, it would lay in the high violence contained throughout parts of the book. By no means does the story glorify violence, but some very young readers may not be quite ready for these themes, hence it being shelved in the teen section.

4 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

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I couldn't put it down

I just didn't want to stop reading this book. I felt writing was good some may not like it, but I felt the author Perry Moore did his best relating about the issues in the story. It just wasn't about a gay teen trying to find himself but also his hero side and place in the world.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted April 21, 2009

Hmm....

I've never read this book, but I gave it five stars anyway. Is sounds interesting. A gay super hero? There's something new. And for a teen novel, that's a Godsend. Heck, I'll read it.

3 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

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Reviewed by Julie M. Prince for TeensReadToo.com

Thom Creed is your average, everyday teenager. Except that he's prone to seizures. And he's gay. Oh, and he's the son of a superhero. An ex-superhero, actually. One who is shunned by the League as well as nearly every member of society. Oh, and Thom has superpowers of his own. <BR/><BR/>Obviously, life has never been normal, but Thom does his best to fit in. He shines on the school basketball team and does volunteer work while holding down three jobs. Until a series of events that would swallow any other kid whole sends Thom reeling into the very world he's been kept away from his entire life: the world of superheroes. <BR/><BR/>Now, while still trying to learn everything he can about his powers, the mysterious disappearance of his mother, and his own unexplored feelings, Thom is faced with new challenges. What he learns is that nothing is as it appears. Nothing and no one. <BR/><BR/>A plot- and action-driven novel, this book is ground-breaking in many ways. Not just in the obvious ways that one might think, although it is interesting to have a gay, teenage superhero as a protagonist. What kept me riveted was the look Moore offers at society. Our tendency to build people up and glory in tearing them to shreds and examining what's left. We thrive on heroes and everything they stand for, and yet, we're never content, as a people, to allow the heroes to enjoy the very things we want them to protect, like humanity, freedom, and individualism. <BR/><BR/>This book is smart. It keeps the reader engaged with a fast-paced scenes and one intriguing character after another while it conveys a message of redemption.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted August 17, 2008

great

i read this book and couldn't put it down. i read it while my family was at the beach and i didn't want to put it down. There is also a 99% chance tht the writer,Perry Moore, and comic book legend Stan Lee are going to make a movie for theaters based on this book

3 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted July 7, 2008

A reviewer

I loved the way this story was told and how the main character was a normal teen ager with insecurities and a great desire to please his Dad. That really moved me being someone who lost his father at a very young age. Too, I can not get enough of super heroes and this book does not disappoint in that department. Any of the criticisms about too mature content is silly. Most teens are exposed to way more and the author simply adds texture to the character by having him experience normal hormonal levels for a teen. I hope there is a sequel!

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted April 3, 2008

READ IT. NOW.

This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. The characters are flawed and at points considered outcasts, but the conclusion shows the power of the underdog and defines the true hero. If you enjoy reading book about unorthodox, quirky characters, this is a must-read!!

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted September 17, 2007

A Great Read

As a long time reader of super hero comics, I have to say that when I heard about this book, I just had to give it a read and I was not disappointed in the least. Every page was a broad jump and leap into a new adventure and crisis in the life of Thom Creed, but an adventure well worth taking. Once I started reading, I could not put the book down. I felt a sense of dread as I realized that I was nearing the end and kept hoping more pages would appear as if by some magic. Hero will leave you a longing for more while at the same time allowing you to be entertained beyond your fill. Perry Moore has seemingly come out of nowhere, but has given us a young person¿s novel for this generation and beyond. My only hope is that there will be many more adventures in the lives of Thom, Goran, Miss Scarlett, Larry, Golden Boy, Uberman and the League to come.

3 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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Unique

This was a unique, genre-busting novel that managed to tackle societal issues while remaining interesting. People will enjoy this book either because they felt a gay superhero was needed or simply cause it was action packed. The writing wasn't the best, and sometimes hard to follow, but the characters themselves were diverse and engaging. It also had enough super hero cheesiness to make it charming. Brilliant.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted March 17, 2009

Life Of A Teenage Superhero

Hero by Perry Moore is a great book. It's filled with exciting shocking secrets. It has many twists to it. I started out not liking the book but once I got deeper into it it all came together. Hero is an all in one book. It has everything I would want to read in a book and I don't read books much. It has everything from romance, sports, and real life situations. I feel it was a great idea by the author to make the main character gay, comparing Thom with what a lot of teenagers go through today with their sexuality. I feel this book can connect with many people who have it hard in life dealing with situations like Thom. I love all the characters in the book. They all have secrets of their own. I strongly recommend this book for other to read. It's a great book. You wont be disappointed.

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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maddie_hero

Posted February 18, 2009

Absolutely Amazing

This book was just amazing altogether. I honestly loved it all. Every single plotline, twist, superhero, everything. It was original - nothing I'd ever read before and it consisted of every single thing that I wanted in from a book - romance, teenage angst, realism (I can tell you now that tons of teenagers will be able to relate to what Thom's going through, gay or straight, just that factor of being accepted into society for who you are) and superheroes! Every good book needs a superhero :) <BR/><BR/>And I loved all the characters! They were so original, fresh and individual that it just made you want them all to be your friend or to just come across someone like them on the street. They were awesome.<BR/><BR/>I also think the dynamic of making the main character gay was a perfect add-in. The fact that he's not just a typical perfect superhero and is also a real teenage boy is very realistic. He has his own worries, flaws and I'm pretty sure that the character Thom can bring hope to all teens struggling out there with their sexuality because even though society is very aware of homosexuality, it doesn't make it any easier for those who come out or just admit it to themselves that that is who they are. Teenagers going through the same situation as Thom find characters like him who did accept who they are really admirable and something to look up to. Like light at the end of the tunnel - a way of knowing that they're not alone. <BR/><BR/>All in all a perfect book in my opinion. :D

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Most Excellent

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a superhero story, but with quite an original premise. Besides being a fun read, it also should make you think. Especially about how we need to learn to not just tolerate others' differences and idiosyncrasies, but actively work with (and, when necessary, around) them. Except the author is a lot less soap-box-y about it!

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted November 14, 2008

It was great

I've never been more captivated by a "closeted" book than this. I felt what the character felt and I laughed out loud several times. It was awesome. This book is in my "books to cherish forever" section of my bookcase, tucked away safe and sound. I love rereading it.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Coming of Age Story for Superheroes

I spent my day off yesterday reading this book. It's not perfect- there was a lot of originality in the next gen superheroes, but many of the League member were familiar characters with new names grafted on (Justice/Superman/Nightwing, Warrior Woman/Wonderwoman, and so on)- but I found it to be daring and well written. Thom read like a real teenager struggling with the fact that he's different, and with the way relationships with parents change as one grows older.<BR/><BR/>Someone on the teen reads board at BN.com was complaining quite a bit about how inappropriate the "masturbation scene" was... First, it's not really a scene per se, as much as it is Thom revealing how he struggles to enjoy his sexuality while dealing with his certainty that his father will not approve. He does look at a gay pr0n website, but there's no gratuitous description, other than Thom saying he likes butch, hairy types. Honestly, I found the book to be totally appropriate for its age range; Thom is in high school, and acts like a high schooler.<BR/><BR/>I found that the book worked on the level of simply telling the superhero story; it's pretty funny, actually, while recognizing most of the superhero tropes from comic books and graphic novels. This is an AU where superheroes are the norm, and the League holds tryouts for new members. The most secretive of the heroes is actually working outside the League's approval, as is Thom's father, a disgraced Batman-figure (he has no super powers, just skills and a sense of vigilante justice). It's an intersting take on the genre, sort of what the world was probably like in The Incredibles before the supers went underground. Thom, on the other hand, wants to be a real, approved hero, but that means risking alienating his father.<BR/><BR/>Add to that fear of alienation the fact that Thom is also gay and closeted, and he's a young man with a lot of secrets, whose journey is simply learning how to be himself and be comfortable with who he is. His story of dealing with his sexuality was touching, for me, especially as he deals with his first crush/relationship at the same time that he is outed.<BR/><BR/>I think this would be an excellent read for any teen, gay or straight, because the real message is one of self-discovery, self-acceptance, and finding one's place in the world.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted April 22, 2008

parental advisory

I bought this book for my middle school aged son based on the jacket description and the background of the author (executive producer of The Chronicles of Narnia films). We were both surprised at the language used, but he liked the story and that wasn't a big deal. However, he got to a point in the book where the character goes to the computer to do his homework (?) and says something like, 'but of course I went straight for the porn'. Not my idea of what a 'hero' ought to be doing in his spare time....

2 out of 27 people found this review helpful.

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heartofpages

Posted November 26, 2012

Loved it! Read it awhile ago, and it is one of my all-time favor

Loved it! Read it awhile ago, and it is one of my all-time favorite LGBT books. I love how the book doesn't just focus on how Thom is gay, but other things too.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Great Read!! Different and Original

This was an awesome read!! What I liked most about this book was that it was very original and it was nice to read something different. It also is inspiring and it truly tells readers that it is ok to be different. Again, awesome book!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted September 18, 2011

Must Read

This book is such a great story. Teen angst meets powers which meets puberty. You will definitely connect with this book no matter if you are gay, straight, or whatever else. I loved it and when I first tired to read it i could NOT put it down until five hours later and nearly asleep still wanting to read it. I promise you will love this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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